The Pacers embarrassingly drop their third straight game to the Knicks at home, giving up a 40 point second quarter in the process.
The Good: Paul George stepped up and played the way he needs to play every night for this team to win games. Myles Turner also came up big in the fourth quarter, despite his crucial turnover in the final minute. The team seemed like a well-oiled machine in the first quarter, and they didn’t give up when they were down by double-digits in the fourth, but everything else was not good.
The Bad: They lost 1.) at home and 2.) to the Knicks, which is one of the worst combinations of losses possible right now. They gave up a 40-point second quarter. They once again seem like they’re not having fun. It’s clear that any hope that came about from their start of 2017 is probably no longer valid.
MVP: Myles Turner and Paul George played like superstars. On most nights, their efforts would be more than enough to get it done, especially against the Knicks.
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LVP: Pretty much the collective rest of the team, but if anyone should be singled out it should probably be C.J. Miles. It’s not like he has to earn a spot in the starting lineup, and he probably isn’t concerned with being a starter anyway, but he was still entrusted with the starting SG role tonight and didn’t deliver. Outside of his highlight dunk, he scored a putrid 10 points on 14 shots.
X-Factor: The obvious statement of this game was the 40-point second quarter by the Knicks. Whether it was the new-ish rotation Nate McMillan was implementing, the Pacers let up after gaining an early lead or a combination of both, the Pacers let this one get away before halftime and didn’t have it in them to complete the comeback.
Whether it was the new-ish rotation Nate McMillan was implementing, the Pacers let up after gaining an early lead or a combination of both, the Pacers let this one get away before halftime and didn’t have it in them to complete the comeback.